Aristides Damalas (Greek: Aριστεíδης Δαμαλάς, alternative spellings Aristidis or Aristide; 15 January 1855 – 18 August 1889), known in France by the stage name Jacques Damala, was a Greek military officer-turned-actor, and husband of Sarah Bernhardt in his last years. Damala's characterisation by modern researchers is far from positive. His handsomeness was as notable as his insolence and Don Juan quality. Writer Fredy Germanos describes him as an opportunistic and hedonistic person, whose marriage to the great diva would inevitably intensify and maximise his vices, namely, his vanity and obsession with women, alcohol, and drugs. Diplomatic career and notorious social life Damala was born at Piraeus, Greece on 15 January 1855 to the aristocratic House of Damalas. He was the second of three children of Ambrosios (Ambrouzis) Damalas (2 June 1808 – 29 July 1869), a wealthy shipping magnate, who later served as mayor of Ermoupoli and Piraeus and his wife, Calliope Ralli (6 June 1829 – 14 February 1891), whose father, Loukas Rallis, had also once served as mayor of Piraeus and Ermoupolis, Syros (he had also came up with the name "Ermoupoli") and was a member of the Executive Committee which attempted the liberation of Chios in 1827, during the Greek War of Independence. The other two children of Ambrouzis and Calliope were a son, Paul (Pavlos) Damalas (17 July 1853 – 25 December 1925) and a daughter, Eirini (ca 1857 – ?). The family later moved to Marseille, France, where they spent several years, until they relocated to Ermoupoli, Syros, after Ambrosios was appointed mayor there. The family later returned to Marseille and eventually to Piraeus. After finishing school in Piraeus, Damala spent four years abroad, mainly in England and France, where he pursued diplomatic studies. He became acquainted with representatives of high society, as well as the theatre world, since he had the dream of excelling as an actor one day. He returned to Greece in 1878 and recruited in the army. He later trained in the Page Corps in Russia but eventually quit his studies there and returned to Paris. By the early 1880s, he had earned a post as a military attaché to the Greek Diplomatic Corps. He quickly acquired a reputation as "the handsomest man in Europe", as well as the nickname "Diplomat Apollo" by his friends and attribution as the most dangerous man in Paris among husbands who feared their wives would